Explore every episode of the podcast rePROs Fight Back
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas’ New Law Takes Aim at Telehealth Medication Abortion Providers | 18 Nov 2025 | 00:39:42 | |
Texas, long at the forefront of restrictive abortion policy in the U.S., has passed a new law (which goes into effect in early December) which would take state law and the already in-place abortion ban (SB 8) and apply it beyond its borders. Jessica Waters, Senior Scholar in Residence at the School of Public Affairs at American University, sits down with us to talk about Texas’ new law restricting telehealth medication abortion, an incredibly common and safe method of care. Specifically, the law prohibits the manufacturing and distribution of mifepristone in the state, and outlines the inability to mail, transport, deliver, prescribe, or provide abortion-inducing drugs to anyone in the state. Currently, pregnant people in Texas cannot receive legal abortion care, so they have relied upon out-of-state abortion care. This new law, though, allows for anyone to sue an out-of-state company or medical professional which provides a person in Texas with mifepristone, even if that doctor or company is in a state where abortion is legal. This law is in direct tension with the shield laws that protect against this very scenario. This will likely create a chilling effect on doctors and abortion funds out-of-state. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Shout It From the Rooftops: Thanks, Birth Control! | 11 Nov 2025 | 00:33:33 | |
November 12, 2025, is #ThxBirthControl Day-- a day to celebrate the multiple methods of contraceptive care that allow people to live their fullest lives and reach their dreams and goals. Monica Edwards, Senior Manager, Public Policy at Power to Decide and Tara Mancini, Public Policy Director at Power to Decide, sit down to talk with us about the magic of #ThxBirthControl Day, as well as the recent attacks that threaten our access to the contraception that helps shape our lives. Over 90% of adults agree that birth control should be legal. Three out of four voters believe that it should be easier to access. And nine and ten women of reproductive age have used birth control at some point in their life. Yet birth control faces ceaseless attacks including misinformation and disinformation, the creeping reclassification of contraception as ‘abortifacients,’ and the withholding of funds from Title X grantees. Join the #ThxBirthControl online campaign to share your story and fight back against these attacks. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Let’s Talk About Period Pain | 16 Sep 2025 | 00:47:17 | |
Starting in her teenage years, Kate Helen Downey’s menstrual cycle was extremely painful. In her adult life, she received an endometriosis diagnosis, which can cause severe menstrual pain. Kate, host and producer of the podcast CRAMPED, sits down with us to share about her experience and encourage everyone to talk about their period pain. Kate’s podcast, CRAMPED, seeks to explore more about why the medical system—and all of us—know next to nothing about period pain. Many people learn about menstruation through movies and TV, where a young girl getting her period for the first time is the primary representation of menstrual health. Rarely do we see reliable depiction of the pain that comes with menstruation. Talking openly with your friends and loved ones about the experience of menstruating can help us destigmatize periods, understand our own pain, understand other people’s pain, comfort one another, and heal. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| New Year, New Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice | 02 Jan 2024 | 00:38:37 | |
The Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice is a federal policy agenda that briefs every incoming administration on how to expand and protect domestic and global sexual and reproductive healthcare. Caitlin Horrigan, Senior Director of Global Advocacy for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Candace Gibson, Director of Government Relations at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, sit down to talk with us about the 2023 Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice and how it reflects the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Links Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice on Twitter National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice on Facebook Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Twitter Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Facebook
Take Action
Amplify the blueprint and the policy agenda it lays out in your communities and platforms. Share on social media, share with friends, family, and policy makers, and send to related (and non-related!) organizations.
Reach out to local, state, and federal elected officials and stress the importance of achieving the vision of SRHR for all. You can contact the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Here's What a World That Achieves LGBTQ+ Justice Looks Like | 19 Dec 2023 | 00:35:36 | |
The needs of LGBTQI+ people to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives are as important as the are universally necessary. Vivian Topping, Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement at the Equality Federation sits down to talks with us about achieving LGBTQI+ justice, what a just world for LGBTQI+ folks looks like, and some hopes for the new year.
To support and enhance the lives of those in the LGBTQI+ community, people need access to healthcare, job training, stable housing, and more. Unfortunately, constant legislative attacks to LGBTQI+ people’s rights and safety means that the much-needed progress on these core areas is put on the backburner while acute and dangerous fires are put out. Anti-LGBTQI+ and anti-trans ideology and messaging from far-right groups can be so severe that it seeps into a variety of political and advocacy circles across the spectrum of issue areas.
The good news? Over the past year, many states have passed transgender sanctuary laws, while 491 anti-trans bills have also been defeated. As we head into 2024, be on the lookout for continued extremism and misinformation, and also note that loud and out-spoken community resistance.
Links Equality Federation on Twitter Equality Federation on Facebook
Take Action Items Follow the Equality Federation on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work.
Find your local Equality Federation partner, nearby events, and other ways to get involved here! When state equality groups and LGBTQI+ communities are asking you to show up—whether at protests, voting, calling representatives, etc., be there.
If you can, you can also give to your local LGBTQI+ organizations, especially through a reoccurring donation. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Help! Help! I'm Being Suppressed (Digitally) | 12 Dec 2023 | 00:42:45 | |
Even years before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive health and rights organizations were noticing that their abortion content posts were being removed, suspended, shadow banned, flagged, and subject to advertising suspension. Jane Eklund, Tech and Reproductive Rights Fellow at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about abortion content digital suppression on social media platforms. Across social media platforms, abortion-related content is often removed or interfered with in some way even though it does not violate the social media platform’s community guidelines. This can lead to decreased engagement, reach, and visibility for content related to abortion and that is often posted by sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations. Digital platforms have also become spaces were criminalization has increased; police have seized Facebook messages and Google searches to prosecute people for searching for and obtaining abortion care. Links Amnesty International USA on Facebook Amnesty International USA on Twitter
Take Action First and foremost, follow Amnesty International on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow reproductive health and rights on social media, including their back up accounts. Plan C, Women on Web, and Shout Your Abortion have very helpful information. Like, share, and interact with their content to increase their reach. Support digital campaigns from reproductive health and rights organizations, as well.
Make sure you talk about this issue—both abortion and abortion content suppression online. Suppression is silence, which makes space for stigmatization.
rePROs Fight Back has been named a finalist in two categories in the 3rdAnnual Anthem Awards. The winners of these awards are chosen by support from our community. You can “celebrate” or vote for rePROs Fight Back here: Human and Civil Rights Awareness and Media Awards and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awareness and Media. Finalists can be celebrated online from December 5th to December 21st at Celebrate.Anthemawards.com. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| As the Holidays Arrive, Here's How to Navigate THOSE Conversations | 05 Dec 2023 | 00:39:21 | |
As the holiday season continues and people sit down with their family and friends around dinner tables and fireplaces, personal question and general conversations about current events—some related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and transgender health and rights—may arise. Erin Matson, Co-founder, President, and CEO of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about how to have difficult conversations, when to engage, and how to build up your boundaries during conversations, confrontations, and questions.
Links Plan C
Take Action Follow Reproaction on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work. You can also find Erin Matson on Twitter here.
If you want to show that you are an ally or help challenge stigma, you can get some merchandise like this on Bonfire and show your support!
Remember, engage in conversations to your own comfortability. Sometimes, we must protect our own mental and emotional wellbeing, safety, and security. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| AMA: You Had Questions, Jennie Has Answers | 28 Nov 2023 | 00:42:45 | |
From the history of how the rePROs Fight Back podcast began to some behind-the-scenes sneak peaks, Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, asks host Jennie Wetter a collection of ask me anything (AMA) questions.
Links Amnesty International USA on Twitter
Take Action
If you need an abortion, check out this website to find the clinic closest to you.
Support your local abortion fund! Find your local abortion fund via the National Network of Abortion Funds.
Follow Tarah Demant on Twitter and follow Amnesty International USA on Twitter and Facebook
As the holidays approach, remember to have conversations with your family members to your own comfortability. Feel free to push back in a big or small way. You can also wear abortion fund merchandise, like this, to break the stigma! For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| It's Time to Say #ThxBirthControl Because They are Coming for Birth Control | 14 Nov 2023 | 00:35:38 | |
November 15, 2023, is #ThxBirthControl Day! Everyone deserves access to an array of birth control methods that works best for their body, their life, and their goals. Rachel Fey, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Power to Decide, sits down to talk with us about the importance of accessible contraception and why we should keep ab eye out for attacks to birth control.
Misinformation and disinformation about birth control has been circulating for a long time and continues to spread—particularly since the Dobbs decision. Supreme Court justices and Congresspeople have recently questioned the constitutionality and need for affordable and accessible birth control, which means now, more than ever, is the time to rally in support for this basic, necessary health care. Join us with Power to Decide in saying #ThxBirthControl!
Links Power to Decide’s Take Action Center Advancing Contraceptive Access Toolkit The Right to Contraception: State and Federal Actions, Misinformation, and the Courts
Follow Power to Decide on Twitter and Facebook.
Join in on #ThxBirthControl Day! Find social media toolkits, merchandise, and more information on this day here. You can find Power to Decide’s take action center here—sign up to stay informed about their work and urge Congress to support related legislation. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| SCOTUS is Hearing a Case That Could Put Guns Back in the Hands of Domestic Abusers | 07 Nov 2023 | 00:41:29 | |
Gun violence prevention and domestic violence are inextricably linked. And today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case, U.S. v Rahimi, that could potentially determine the constitutionality of a gun violence prevention law that has saved millions of lives. Sabrina Talukder, Director of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, sits down to talk with us about this upcoming Supreme Court case and its implications for those experiencing domestic violence.
When there is a firearm in the home during a domestic violence incident, the risk of death increases by 500 percent. And in 2017, over 5.9 million women reported being shot by a gun by an intimate partner at some point in their life. A 1996 law prevented those with domestic violence records from attaining a firearm—and the law has been incredibly effective. But adherence to originalism in the Supreme Court may discard that law and put the health and lives of domestic abuse survivors at risk.
Links Center for American Progress Women on Twitter (they will be live Tweeting the case today) Center for American Progress on Twitter Center for American Progress on Facebook
Take Action
Make space for survivors who are telling their stories and listen to their experiences.
You can follow Center for American progress on Twitter and Facebook to keep up-to-date on their gun violence prevention work.
Read more about the concept of Originalism here. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Fight for Your Right to Access Abortion Through Your Union | 31 Oct 2023 | 00:35:35 | |
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion access has become dependent on one’s location. Accessing an abortion involves considerations like employer-sponsored healthcare coverage and taking time off of work. Barbara Camens, union side labor attorney, sits down to talk with us about the importance of access to affordable, comprehensive reproductive health care as part of the collective bargaining process.
25 million women if reproductive age now live in a state that bans or severely restricts abortion. In order to access abortion care, people need to travel to other states, which includes taking time off of work, possibly taking time off of work on short notice, incurring significantly higher medical costs under employer healthcare coverage, and more. As terms and conditions of employment, this means employers should be required to bargain in good faith with unions.
Links Abortion Model Collective Bargaining Agreement Language Plan C
Take Action If you are a member of a union, hold your union accountable for safeguarding legal, accessible abortion access and ensure that the issue is taken up in the collective bargaining process.
If you are not a member of a union, think about unions as obvious allies in the fight for progressive change. Alliances can be made between the labor movement and the reproductive rights movement, and tapping into that power can result in powerful change. Call on friends in the labor movement or reach out to people in the labor movement to have these discussions. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Anti-Trans Advocates Are Following the Anti-Abortion Playbook Play for Play | 24 Oct 2023 | 00:41:38 | |
The culture of fear that the anti-abortion movement uses also underlines the anti-queer and anti-transgender movement. Garnet Henderson, Senior Multiplatform Reporter for Rewire News Group and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about how these two movements are connected and how anti-rights actors may influence access to gender-affirming care in the near future.
A year since the dismantling of Roe v. Wade, 25 million women of reproductive age now and more nonbinary and transgender people live in states where the law increases barriers to abortion care. And, across the U.S. this year alone, 583 bills have been introduced in 49 states which are designed to block trans people from receiving healthcare, education, and other basic rights. Harassment and threats against healthcare providers, misinformation and disinformation, and fear-laden rhetoric are all increasingly overlapping elements of the anti-abortion and anti-trans movement. Using these tools, a collection of anti-rights actors are able to influence legislation, spread false information, and impact people’s access to basic healthcare.
Links Garnet Henderson on Twitter Anti-Trans Activists Are Trying to Scare Gender Care Providers Away Will Conservatives Use the ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’ Playbook to Attack Trans People? Open Letter by New York Times contributors to New York Times on their coverage of transgender issues
Take Action Combat misinformation about transgender individuals and abortion care in your inner circles. If you hear people spreading stigma, fear, and mis- and disinformation about people and healthcare, challenge them.
Donate to mutual aid funds or any individual’s personal GoFundMe for gender affirming care.
If you live in a state that is challenging gender affirming care, show up to testify in person or reach out to your local legislature to combat any harmful legislation. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The Fight for Medical Privacy in Latin America and Its Implications for Abortion Rights | 17 Oct 2023 | 00:34:00 | |
The Green Wave movement has swept through Latin America and has increased the liberalization of abortion law. Still, criminalization, and medical privacy and medical secrecy concerns can impact someone’s access to care or have patients and professionals facing prison sentences. Gloria Orrego-Hoyos, fellow with the Health and Human Rights initiative at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, sits down to talk with us about the status of criminalization, medical privacy and medical secrecy when it comes to abortion across Latin America.
Some Latin American regions criminalize abortion to the extreme. In El Salvador, abortion carries a charge of “aggravated homicide” and can punished by up to 30 years in prison, while in Nicaragua, those who access an abortion face a sentence of up to two years in prison, with medical professionals facing sentences of up to six years in prison for administering care. Some medical professionals feel pressure to, and do end up, reporting abortions to the police. Many doctors are also afraid to provide care until the most dangerous point, due to the shadow of the criminal system.
Links Gloria Orrego-Hoyos on Twitter Plan C
Take Action Follow Gloria on Twitter to stay up-to-date on her incredible work. You can also follow the O’Neill Institute here.
If you ever find yourself on the other end of criminalization for accessing abortion care, you can contact the Repro Legal Helpline and the If/When/How’s Repro Legal Defense Fund.
Try to have conversations in your homes, in your places of work, and with your friends about abortion and access to basic healthcare in an effort to break stigma. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The State Department is Cutting Out Human Rights Abuses from Annual Reports | 09 Sep 2025 | 00:45:50 | |
The State Department’s Human Rights Reports were mandated by Congress in 1974 to ensure funding did not go toward torture, involuntary detention, and suppression of fundamental freedoms. The reports collect information on human rights abuses around the world. But this year’s human rights reports were created under completely rewritten instructions, featuring a huge reduction in information on human rights abuses. Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about these devastatingly slashed human rights reports. The reports provide a human rights overview for any given country for the year, and they require human rights desk officers in embassies to engage with human rights defenders within the country and document any abuses. This allows Congress to make fact-based decisions and protect asylum seekers. This year’s human rights reports featured a complete rewrite of the instructions for dramatically reduced sections related to fundamental freedoms for particular populations (including women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, and more). The reports are 1/3rd shorter than they were before. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Let's Talk About Why Gestational Bans and Exceptions Need To Go | 10 Oct 2023 | 00:35:02 | |
Abortions later in pregnancy can occur for a variety of reasons, and the later in pregnancy an abortion is needed, the more barriers patients face in accessing care. Many people in the U.S. who are seeking an abortion are also struggling to piece together resources to pay for care which pushes the timeline for access back farther each week. Dr. Diane Horvath, OBGYN, and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Partners in Abortion Care, sits down to talk with us about the truths and misconceptions about abortions later in pregnancy.
Gestational bans and “exceptions” within abortion law are common barriers that prevent people who are early in their pregnancy from accessing care and increase stigma. These barriers disproportionately impact those who are already most marginalized in accessing abortion care—including BIPOC, LGBTQI+ folks, young people, people with disabilities, and more. No matter what, abortion is healthcare and should be accessible when it is required. No one other than the pregnant person should be able to make a decision about when they access an abortion, especially if external factors have proved difficult to hurdle.
Links Partners in Abortion Care Merchandise
Take Action Follow Dr. Horvath on Twitter and stay up-to-date on her work.
Buy super cute swag that supports Partners in Abortion Care.
If you can, give money to abortion funds. They are facilitating not only abortion care, but support in accessing that care. You can also fundraise for your local funds, too!
Hold your local elected officials accountable. Reproductive health, rights, and justice is directly intertwined with a plethora of issue areas, many of which elected officials vote on. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Hannah Matthews on Her New Book, You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula | 03 Oct 2023 | 00:42:40 | |
As an abortion care worker and doula, Hannah Matthews has seen a plethora of abortion journeys and responses. And while statistically nearly everyone knows someone who has or will access an abortion in their lifetime, one-note narratives bolster assumptions and we are awash in a sea of anti-abortion stigma. Hannah Matthews, abortion clinic worker, community care worker, doula, and author, sits down to talk with us about her new book, You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula, and how to better support those accessing abortion.
Feelings on abortion can be varied. Hannah offers up a guide to the emotional and physical realities of providing true and flexible support to people accessing abortion. The book offers real abortion stories, highlighting a genuinely diverse landscape of abortion care across gender, race, and class lines. In addition, we talk about maintaining hope in the seemingly constant fight for abortion rights.
Links You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings Plan C
Take Action
Follow Hannah on Twitter and her website stay up-to-date on her work.
Find You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula on bookshop.org.
If you are interested in becoming an abortion doula, familiarize yourself with the reproductive justice needs in your community through being in contact with your local abortion fund and abortion clinics. Look into abortion doula trainings that may be connected to your local funds.
Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings and Cornerstone feature helpful training and resources.
All Options and Exhale are hotlines and text lines that are also possible to get involved in. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The Impacts of Dobbs Ripple Around the World | 26 Sep 2023 | 00:40:39 | |
The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade no doubt impacted countless people in the U.S. But there are even some far-reaching impacts in other countries. Bergen Cooper, Director of Policy research with Fòs Feminista, talks to us about a new organizational report that details Dobb’s ripple effects around the world. We also hear from Sharon Vilegwa, Daniel Arango, Dr. Souvik Pyne, and Ijeoma Egwuatu, global partners with Fòs Feminista, about how the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision has resulted in on-the-ground impacts in Colombia, Kenya, India, and Nigeria.
After the Dobbs ruling, there has been an increase in misinformation and negative narratives surrounding abortion, as well as the review of safe abortion as a constitutional right in Kenya. In Colombia, anti-rights actors feel empowered by Roe’s overturning. Myths and stigma surrounding safe abortion continues to ramp up in India. Dobbs has been used to support arguments against safe abortion legal guidelines in Nigeria. While Dobbs does not have legal impacts abroad, its effects bolster the anti-abortion and anti-rights movement.
LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE Fòs Feminista on Twitter The Global Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Abortion Laws, Policies, Legislation, Narratives, and Movements: Findings from Colombia, India, Kenya, and Nigeria
Take Action:
Make sure to follow Fòs Feminista on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work.
Dive deeper into the new report-- The Global Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Abortion Laws, Policies, Legislation, Narratives, and Movements: Findings from Colombia, India, Kenya, and Nigeria -- featuring reflections from Colombia, Kenya, India, and Nigeria. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Lauren Rankin On Her New Book, Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America | 19 Sep 2023 | 00:39:37 | |
Starting in the late 1970s, people have been serving as clinic escorts at abortion clinics, guarding and protecting patients from anti-abortion protestors. Since then, volunteer clinic escorts have devised several strategies for making sure patients access the care they need and continue to use their bodies as shields against anti-abortion protestors every day. Lauren Rankin, writer, consultant, and author of Bodies on the Line, sits down to talk with us about the history of clinic escorting and the continued need for such a vital community-based practice.
Anti-abortion protestors often camp out in front of abortion clinics, where they harass, threaten, and attempt to coerce those who are attending appointments. Clinic escorting has often involved walking the patient to the door, standing between a patient and a protestor, and calming a patient through conversation.
Unfortunately, the federal government has shown time and time again that meaningful abortion protections will be challenging to pass. But there is hope—you can push local elected officials in your community to recognize the importance of abortion care.
Find Lauren Rankin’s book at your local bookstore or on bookshop.org.
Links Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force Plan C
Take Action Check out Lauren’s book, Bodies on the Line, here! You can also keep up with Lauren’s work but following her on Twitter.
Rally for abortion protections in your community. If you are interested in becoming a clinic escort and you live in a state where abortion is still legal, reach out to your local clinic and see if there is a pre-existing escort group. If not, make your own!
You can also contact the abortion fund near you and see if there is anything that they need. You can also donate here. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| "rePROs Fight Back" trailer | 12 Sep 2023 | 00:03:01 | |
Love Podcasts? Love bodily autonomy? Want to get engaged in the fight for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice? Then this is the podcast for you. Each episode host Jennie Wetter has a guest on to do a deep dive into issues ranging from abortion, birth control, trans rights, abortion, child marriage, sex education, LGBTQ+ rights, and did we mention abortion. Join us to learn more about the fight for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice and what you can do to fight back. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The Sharp Increase in Reproductive Violence Post-Dobbs | 05 Sep 2023 | 00:32:37 | |
Trigger Warning: In this episode we talk about intimate partner violence. If you need help or to talk to someone you can call or chat the National Domestic Violence Hotline at https://www.thehotline.org/ 1-800-799-SAFE or the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) at https://www.rainn.org/ 1-800-656-HOPE.
Over the course of a single year, more than 12 million people are victims of intimate partner violence in the United States. In the year since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has seen a 98 percent increase in survivors mentioning reproductive coercion as part of their experience as compared to the year before. Marium Durrani, Vice President of Policy at the National Domestic Violence Hotline sits down to talk with us about the rise of intimate partner violence and domestic violence after the overturning of Roe.
Reproductive coercion, violence, or abuse involves behaviors that intend to maintain power and control related to reproductive health in a relationship. When this type of abuse occurs, an individual’s ability to control their own life, body, and safety is called into question. This type of abuse has greatly increased since the Dobbs decision, and the ability to access sexual and reproductive healthcare-- including abortion-- faces more barriers. Interference by a partner to be economically independent, move freely, and communicate freely, may also prevent a person from accessing care.
Links National Domestic Violence Hotline on Twitter National Domestic Violence Hotline on Facebook Plan C
Take Action Follow the National Domestic Violence Hotline on Twitter and Facebook. If you are experiencing intimate partner violence, domestic violence, or reproductive violence, you can reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline via call 1-800-799-SAFE, text to 88788, or chat on the website. Find more information here. If you can, donate to your local or national domestic violence organizations. In an effort to shift the cultural narrative, share information about intimate partner violence, domestic violence, reproductive abuse, and lack of abortion access among your family in your family and friends. If you would like to or feel safe, share your story. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The New Dept. of Defense Abortion Policy and the Anti-Abortion Backlash | 22 Aug 2023 | 00:30:34 | |
There have been and continue to be significant bans on abortion in the military (with limited exceptions), through TRICARE and at military treatment facilities. This means most military service members and dependents who need abortion care cannot access it through the military. Jackii Wang, Senior Legislative Analyst with the National Women’s Law Center, sits down to talk with us about a new policy memorandum that expands abortion access for military service members and their dependents.
Post Dobbs, the Department of Defense and the Biden administration have announced a number of changes, some of which have gone into effect. These include providing travel and transportation allowances for traveling off base for an abortion, standardizing “administrative absence,” and extending the deadline to disclose a pregnancy to a commander. These policies have been met with fierce backlash from anti-abortion actors, including those in the Senate who are upholding nominations for military posts.
Links National Women’s Law Center on Facebook National Women’s Law Center on Twitter Plan C
Take Action
Follow the National Women’s Law Center on Twitter and Facebook.
Have conversations with people in your life about the news surrounding abortion and the military. As politicians continue to attack access, discuss why it’s important to continue to protect care. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| How has the Work of Abortion Funds Changed Post-Roe? | 08 Aug 2023 | 00:29:15 | |
Patients needed abortion funds even before the fall of Roe v. Wade in order to access care, but those needs have skyrocketed after Dobbs and as the abortion access landscape becomes more fractured. Tyler Barbarin, Director of Grants and Development for the Louisiana Abortion Fund, sits down to talk with us about how abortion funds are working overtime to help people access the care they need in the United States.
An abortion fund acts as mutual aid, facilitating and providing access to logistical help for those seeking abortion care. Before the fall of Roe, abortion was still incredibly difficult to access in multiple regions of the country. Abortion funds coordinated logistics, organized travel, scheduled appointments, counseled patients before and after medical visits, and fundraised for access costs. In the current legal environment, abortion funds and their ability to assist patients varies from state-to-state. In Louisiana, for example, abortion is illegal, so abortion funds in the state may look like coordinating travel to and care in states where abortion access is still possible. The logistical, informational, and financial barriers that people now face are astronomically larger due to multi-state travel being introduced to the abortion access landscape.
Many—particularly cisgendered, straight white women—will have the resources and support to access an abortion even in environments that make it increasingly difficult to do so. Those who are most impacted by abortion-restrictive registration are BIPOC folks, those with limited or low incomes, and those who are already parents. And, despite abortion fund’s best efforts to assist, some barriers to abortion care will now be completely insurmountable to some, especially those who are most marginalized.
Links Louisiana Abortion Fund For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| A Birth Control Pill Will Soon Be Available Over the Counter. Yes, Really! | 25 Jul 2023 | 00:29:33 | |
On July 13th, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Opill, a progestin-only birth control pill, for over-the-counter sale. The United States will now join over 100 countries where birth control pills are available without a prescription. Victoria Nichols, Project Director with Free the Pill, sits down to talk to us about what this approval means for birth control equity and access for those in the US.
Currently in the United States, over the counter birth control is still not available on the shelves (but it will occur soon!). Up until that point becomes a reality, patients have had to navigate a prescription model, meaning that providers must prescribe birth control during an in-person appointment at a healthcare facility. This model has always featured barriers to access, requiring a patient to take time off work, find transportation, pay co-pays or out-of-pocket costs, and more.
Efforts to move away from the prescription model and make the birth control pill available over-the-counter have been decades in the making, featuring youth activists, medical providers, and reproductive justice advocates working in coalition. The FDA approval is a reflection and culmination of this dedicated, long-term work.
Now that the FDA has decided that the birth control pill can be accessed over-the-counter, this softens many barriers to access. People seeking the birth control pill will not have to make an appointment with a doctor, wait months for that appointment, seek time off school and work, or worry about the costs of a doctor’s visit. It is expected the birth control pill will be available on-the-shelf in early 2024.
Links Advocates for Youth’s Free the Pill Youth Council
Take Action Items First and foremost, follow Free the Pill on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their amazing work. You can also sign up for email updates from Free the Pill here.
Advocates for Youth features a Free the Pill Youth Council, which works in communities across the country to expand access to an affordable birth control pill.
Talk to people in your life about birth control, health equity, and the importance of eliminating barriers to access! For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The U.S. is on the Wrong Side of Global Abortion Trends | 11 Jul 2023 | 00:56:29 | |
Abortion rates around the world have stayed the same since the 1990s—except in countries where abortion restrictions have been newly introduced. Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about the countries that have recently introduced abortion restrictions, the countries that have protected abortion care for decades, and what the future of global abortion access looks like moving forward.
The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 was a major loss for abortion rights. Even still, in the last 50 years, there is an unmistakable trend of the liberalization of abortion laws across the world. In fact, the vast majority of countries permit abortion in at least some circumstance, and these countries continue to move toward further liberalization of abortion laws. In all, 60 countries have liberalized their abortion laws, with only four countries having rolled back their abortion laws since 1994. The countries that have rolled back abortion laws include the United States, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Poland. In each of these countries, maternal deaths rates, criminalization of people seeking healthcare, and rapidly spreading chilling effects among providers, has increased.
The Dobbs case has been and will continue be used as a framework for general anti-rights policy around the world. Similarly, the U.S.’ narrative lead on anti-abortion ideology has the ability to influence other countries’ narratives and political confidence to pass equally restrictive laws. Dobbs and its ideology has also coincided with an emboldening of the global anti-gender and anti-LGBTQI+ movement.
Links Amnesty International USA on Twitter Amnesty International USA on Facebook Fos Feminista Fact Sheet: The Global Impact of the Dobbs Decision
Take Action Items
Follow Amnesty International on Twitter and Facebook.
Stay engaged and take heart. The majority of people around the world—3 out of 5—believe that abortion should be legal. Talk about abortion, how it’s normal, safe, healthcare and a human right.
If you have money to give, give to an abortion fund! If donating isn’t an option, figure out a way to become involved—whether going to events, volunteering, or more!
Reach out to your local council members and elected officials, and make sure they know that abortion access is important to you as a constituent. You can also call your federal elected officials! The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Decimate Medicaid | 02 Sep 2025 | 00:44:08 | |
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), President Trump’s Tax and Spend mega bill, recently passed Congress. It will strip billions of dollars from essential health programs while paying for billions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich, expand mass deportation programs, and continue to harm reproductive justice. Madeline Morcelle, Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program, sits down to talk with us about OBBBA and how it’s going to particularly impact Medicaid. Medicaid, the largest public health insurance program for people in the United States, including those of low incomes, currently provides coverage for over 71 million people. Medicaid is a critical line for people to access sexual and reproductive health care. OBBBA ushers in the most sweeping Medicaid cuts in U.S. history—specifically, $990 billion dollars in Medicaid cuts over the next decade and ending health insurance coverage for over 10 million people. Among other cuts, OBBBA imposes mandatory, nationwide work requirements on Medicaid expansion and partial expansion beneficiaries aged 19-64. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| One Year Ago We Lost the Right to Abortion: Where Are We Now? | 27 Jun 2023 | 00:37:47 | |
June 24th, 2023 marked one-year since the overturning of Roe v. Wade via the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case. Between July and December 2022, an estimated 66,000 people have not been able to access abortion care in their home state. Becca Andrews, reporter at Reckon News and author of No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right, talks to us about the myriad of ways in which the abortion landscape has changed in the past year, including the ways anti-abortion ideology has led to a chipping away at democracy.
The lives of providers, clinic staff, patients, abortion storytellers, abortion fund workers, reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates and reporters have changed dramatically in the past year. In abortion hostile states, many providers and clinic staff have been prevented from providing care or are hesitant to provide care due to vague legal limits. Reporters like Becca, who follow stories on abortion access and care, are being silenced algorithmically on social media. Abortion fund workers scramble, against extreme time frames and travel requirements, to put together funding for procedures and transportation.
The denial of human rights is leading to a steady building of authoritarianism. States are telling patients and doctors what care they can access or provide, newsrooms (particularly those that are local and state-based) are shrinking, and mis-and disinformation is rapidly spreading (Reminder: the disinformation that informs anti-abortion sentiment also informs the anti-LGBTQI+, anti-democracy, and anti-science sentiment). Without access to information and up-to-date news or social media, people do not have immediate interaction with necessary knowledge and the national conversation is stifled more broadly. This prevents them from fully realizing their human right to sexual and reproductive health care. Take Action
Follow Becca Andrews on Twitter, find her pieces on Reckon News, and check out her book.
Set up reoccurring donations to BIPOC- and low-income and queer-led abortion funds. These grassroots organizations are providing safe, dependable mutual aid for those who are particularly in need.
Support organizations like We Testify, who are erasing abortion stigma one story at a time.
As appropriations season ramps up, tell your Congress members that reproductive health and rights is funded—that UNFPA, Title X, international family planning is funded, and the Helms amendment and Hyde amendment is repealed. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| A Human Rights Crisis: Uganda's New Anti-LGBTQ+ Law | 20 Jun 2023 | 00:58:33 | |
At the end of May, Uganda’s president signed into law a piece of legislation that criminalizes the LGBTQI+ community it includes that death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” creates new crimes around “promotion of homosexuality,” and 10 years in prison for attempted same-sex conduct. Ophelia Kemigisha, human rights lawyer and feminist activist from Uganda, and Beirne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow for the Council for Global Equality, sit down to talk with us about Uganda’s new anti-LGBTQI+ law and what human rights advocates can do to work against it.
Many evangelical, conservative American organizations and activists have been working in Uganda to plant the seeds for this recent, horrific law. An anti-homosexuality bill in the country in 2013 (which included the death penalty provision) began a U.S.-discussion on human rights and American involvement in Uganda. The law was repealed due to technical language— not substance—and since then, conservative American and Ugandan actors have continued crafting anti-LGBTQI+ legislation and contributing to extreme stigmatization. For a deeper dive on the global anti-gender movement, find the past podcast with Beirne here.
New to this bill, though, include the criminalization of the “promotion” and “normalization” of homosexuality; this includes, for example, seven years in prison for providing housing to those who you know are gay. The law also lumps in the ability to love a partner of one’s own choice with harrowing crimes, including sexual assault. Misinformation surrounding this bill has been rife, and real harm is currently taking place in Uganda. People are afraid to speak and live openly; patients with HIV are scared to approach healthcare providers for treatment; healthcare professionals are scared to interact with the LGBTQI+ community. It is the responsibility of human rights advocates to hold the line and clearly communicate that this legislation is unconscionable.
Legislation like Uganda’s is not happening in a vacuum; pushes for similar laws are happening across the African continent and across the world. As a human rights activist, make noise about how urgent it is to fight this bill—it is a domino.
Links Convening for Equality Twitter Convening for Equality’s Statement after Uganda’s Passage of The Anti-LGBTQI+ Law The Council for Global Equality on Twitter The Council for Global Equality on Facebook A Deep-Dive on The Global Anti-Gender Movement Beirne Roose-Snyder on Twitter For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| In the Year Post-Dobbs, Anti-Abortion Violence Has Increased | 13 Jun 2023 | 00:41:10 | |
One year after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that served as the platform for Roe v. Wade’s overturning, 15 states have now banned all or most abortions. Garnet Henderson, Senior Multiplatform Reporter for Rewire News Group and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about the country-wide need for abortion care and violence against providers and clinics, all of which has increased since last June.
The 15 states that have banned all or most abortions are the bans that are currently in effect, with others likely to go into effect in the coming year. For people in the South and Midwest, where it was already more difficult to get an abortion, access to abortion care requires driving hundreds of miles or taking a flight. With abortion access curtailed, maternal mortality will rise--especially for Black mothers, who are in the midst of a maternal mortality crisis caused by racism in the U.S. health system.
Since Roe’s overturning, there has been a marked increase in assault, battery, stalking, bomb threats, bioterrorism threats, clinic invasions, and obstruction. Responses from law enforcement continues to be insufficient.
The focus must be on pregnant people currently navigating a near impossible situation. Mis- and dis-information being spread by anti-abortion groups, violence against clinics and providers, and silence from major medical is only making it worse.
Links Garnet Henderson for Rewire News Group ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion Video Reveals Anti-Abortion Groups Expected ‘Dobbs’ Backlash That Never Came Anti-Abortion and Fascist Violence Are One and the Same. Clinics Are Paying the Price.
Take Action Follow Garnet Henderson on Twitter and Rewire News Group and stay up-to-date with her publications. You can also find ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion here.
Get plugged in with your local abortion fund! Follow them on social media (don’t call their hotline, please! That’s for patients). Donate and volunteer when needed. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| A Closer Look at the Court Cases that Expanded Abortion Access in Mexico and Colombia | 30 May 2023 | 01:15:45 | |
Since the start of the Green Wave movement, multiple countries across Latin America have liberalized their abortion laws. Ivonne Garza, Senior Associate at the O’Neill Institute for National Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center and Natialia Acevedo Guerrero, Senior Consultant with the Health and Human Rights Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, sit down to talk with us about recent court cases in Colombia and Mexico and how they have expanded access to abortion care across the region.
The Green Wave, a liberal feminist movement which started in Argentina, increased mobilization in 2020 to decriminalize and destigmatize abortion across multiple countries in Latin America. This social movement paved the way for leaders to take abortion considerations to the top courts and set the groundwork for judicial and legislative change.
In September 2021, three court cases changed the legal framework for abortion in the Federation of Mexico. The first case addressed the constitutionality of abortion regulations on states’ criminal codes and recognized the right to choose “without exception,” which includes abortion, sex education, family planning decision making, and more. The second case ruled that states were not allowed to regulate protections to the right to life that go beyond what the Mexican Constitution currently outlines. Lastly, the third case analyzed “conscientious objection” in the healthcare system and ruled it an individual right of medical personnel, but also that it could be limited to protect other fundamental rights.
In 2006, Colombia’s court referred to abortion in a favorable way. In this year, abortion was decriminalized in moments of when the pregnant person’s health and life at risk, pregnancy as a result of rape and incest, and when the fetus is incompatible with life. In 2022, the Colombian Court studied a new lawsuit that asked for the complete decriminalization of abortion in the country. Through four arguments, including 1) the proportionality of abortion criminalization; 2) the freedom and conscious of women and reproductive decisions; 3) the criminalization of abortion and the right to equality; and 4) the preventative purpose of criminal law, the Court concluded that the criminalization of abortion was in tension with the country’s affirmed right to health and reproductive rights.
Both countries provide an opportunity for U.S. advocates to learn. By studying the history of Mexican and Colombian Court decisions, U.S. leaders can take away elements related to discrimination, equality, intersectional approaches, and legal frameworks that may be helpful for the fight for abortion rights at home.
Links The Green Wave: How Abortion Rights Are Spreading Through Latin America For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Just Let Trans Girls Play Sports | 16 May 2023 | 00:42:47 | |
More than half of states in the United States have banned transgender women and girls from female sports, including at the middle and high school age. Katelyn Burns, columnist for MSNBC and Xtra Magazine and co-host of the podcast Cancel Me Daddy, sits down with us to talk about a new Title IX rule proposed by the Biden administration and what it covers—and doesn’t cover—when it comes to the protection of trans students.
Around the US, states have been increasingly introducing and passing legislation that singles out transgender women and girls and prevents them from playing on sports teams. In Kentucky, for example, the only 11-year-old trans girl playing a school sport in the entire state helped to start a girl’s field hockey team at her school; the state’s ban on trans athletes now singularly impacts her, preventing her completely from playing on the team that she created.
During the Obama administration, Title IX for the very first time included guidance on transgender students, which stated that educational and recreational opportunities (including sports) cannot be denied to transgender students that would be given to cisgender students. Guidance under the Trump administration was revised to be more unhelpful and discriminatory. Now, the Biden administration has revised the guidelines; unlike the Obama-era guidelines, these guidelines do include exclusions for trans girls playing sports against cisgender girls. This guidance does make it more difficult for states to institute blanket sports bans, but still does not explicitly disavow discrimination against transgender students.
Links Katelyn Burns on Xtra Magazine Katelyn Burns: The massive Republican push to ban trans athletes, explained Katelyn Burns: The unfalsifiability of the anti-trans sports movement Katelyn Burns: Biden’s Hollow Trans Sports Policy Appeases The Right Take Action Items
First and foremost, follow Katelyn Burns on Twitter. You can also find more information on Katelyn’s co-hosted podcast, Cancel Me Daddy, here.
Challenge your own perspectives on transgender student’s participation in sports. Consider the last time you heard of an openly trans women playing on a men’s sports team.
You can find more of Katelyn’s opinion pieces with MSNBC and Xtra Magazine. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Overcoming Barriers to Ensure Access to Reproductive Health Care in Vietnam | 02 May 2023 | 00:28:30 | |
During the last three decades, Vietnam’s general public has achieved an all-time high in contraceptive prevalence rates. However, many still face barriers in accessing their choice of contraceptive methods or provider. Hang Nguyen, Country Director for Marie Stopes International (MSI) Reproductive Choices in Vietnam, sits down to talk with us about those who are most impacted by these obstacles and how MSI is working to overcome them.
MSI, a UK-based non-profit, specializes in and delivers sexual and reproductive health care and family planning in 37 countries. MSI’s Vietnam program began in 1989, and continues to deliver reproductive healthcare—including contraceptive, abortion, and diagnosis, prevention, and treatment services—to more than 200,000 patients a year, including ethnic-minorities, factory workers, and young people; MSI Vietnam’s factory program brings SRHR care and services to factory workers in more than 80 factories in the Ho Chi Minh area.
Contraception is not yet covered by Vietnam’s national health service, and while anyone can technically access contraception from any pharmacy or health clinic, factory workers still see very low rates of usage. This is often attributed to factory worker’s schedule of long and demanding hours, costs of new contraceptive methods, and travel time for those in remote, mountainous areas. MSI has developed and launched a service voucher program to facilitate young women and girls, as well as factory workers, to access contraceptive services at a time convenient to them.
Links
Take Action Follow MSI on Twitter and Facebook. You can also find information on MSI Vietnam here. Donate to MSI and help keep this work going. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Pre-Dobbs, Many Stories of Suffering Came from Catholic Hospitals. Now, They're Everywhere. | 18 Apr 2023 | 00:42:37 | |
Catholic hospitals and existing religious restrictions on abortion are currently co-existing with post-Roe abortion bans across the U.S. And, in states where abortion is still accessible, Catholic hospitals are still a sizable barrier to accessing compassionate, evidence-based medical care. Amy Littlefield, Abortion Access Correspondent at the Nation, sits down with us to discuss how trauma previously seen at Catholic hospitals when trying to access sexual and reproductive healthcare is now being seen on a more general scale. Catholic hospitals up 1 in 6 acute-care hospital beds and generally follow rules written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. These rules ban abortion, fail to promote or condone contraceptive practices, ban direct sterilization of men and women, and deny care to transgender patients. Patients often don’t know they requesting care from a Catholic hospital, or that the few hospitals in their area have a religious affiliation or have merged with health systems that have a religious affiliation. For a deeper dive into care offered by Catholic hospitals, find the past podcast episode here. Links For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Emergency Pod: Explaining the Chaos of the Recent Mifepristone Rulings | 11 Apr 2023 | 00:38:33 | |
On Friday, April 8, 2023, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued an unprecedented ruling out of Texas that has the ability to impact medication abortion access nationwide. Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law, sits down to talk to us about the recent ruling on mifepristone, what the FDA can do, and what this currently means for medication abortion access in the U.S.
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. The FDA was overseen by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has a vast history of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-reproductive health and rights rulings, including blocking contraceptive access for Texas teens under the Title X program on the grounds of parental religious objection. For a deep-dive into the case itself, you can find more information in our recent podcast episode.
Never before has a federal judge claimed the authority to revoke or suspend the FDA’s approval for a drug. This ruling has also positioned the pharmaceutical industry to become much more involved in conversations surrounding abortion rights, due to their recognition of the threat at the core of this ruling—that endless cases could attempt to block medications on the hypothetical grounds that they could harm somebody else’s patient in the future. This precedent undoubtedly threatens gender-affirming medications and other medications, as well.
The decision included a number of anti-science, anti-medicine rhetoric to justify the ruling. The complication rate of medication abortion is incredibly low, and the serious complication rate is near zero. Yet Judge Kacsmaryk cited a “study” funded by an anti-abortion, far-right institute claiming mifepristone causes harm to patients. Judge Kacsmaryk used language rooted in “fetal personhood,” throughout the ruling. In addition, Judge Kacsmaryk referenced the Comstock Act—an antiquated, Victorian-era law that banned the mailing of “sexual materials, birth control, or abortion-causing drugs” and is very carefully applied to avoid unconstitutionality –in the ruling to support his claims.
Judge Thomas Rice’s ruling out of Washington state ruled that the FDA continue allowing mifepristone in the 17 states and D.C. which brought the case, leading to a stay on the FDA’s ability to alter mifepristone’s status while deliberation occurred, and resulting in a preemptive measure intended to conflict with Kacsmaryk’s decision. The FDA is now under two competing court orders. The FDA does have enforcement discretion, meaning even if Judge Kacsmaryk’s stay goes into effect, it may not have to necessarily mean that the FDA has to comply.
Links The Lawless Ruling Against the Abortion Pill Has Already Prompted a Constitutional Crisis Tweet thread by Dr. Daniel Grossman on anti-science in the mifepristone ruling For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The Global Gag Rule May be Gone (For Now) But Its Harm Continues | 04 Apr 2023 | 00:34:48 | |
The Global Gag Rule (GGR) prevents foreign non-governmental organizations that receive U.S. foreign assistance funds from providing, advocating for, counseling on, or referring for abortion services even when done with their non-U.S. funds. Bergen Cooper, Director of Policy Research at Fòs Feminista and Kat Olivera, Associate Director for U.S. Global Policy at Fòs Feminista, sit down to talk to us about the unmitigated harm caused by the GGR and why permanent repeal of this rule is needed immediately. The Global Gag Rule, or the Mexico City Policy as introduced in 1984 by President Ronald Raegan, which is a presidential memorandum that is either reinstated or revoked depending on party lines. During the Trump administration, the Global Gag Rule was expanded and rebranded as the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy, and Biden revoked the GGR early in his tenure. Still, even when the GGR is not in effect, it can be impactful. When the policy is put into place, purposeful communications are made to ensure cooperation; when the policy is revoked, communications are one-off. In fact, Fòs Feminista’s research team found an alarming breakdown in communication between the U.S. government and relevant global stakeholders. It was found that, this particularly damaging game of telephone resulted in the prolonging of the policy’s implementation and unnecessarily prevented people from accessing legal abortions.
The Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights Act (The Global HER Act) is a bicameral piece of legislation that would repeal the Global Gag Rule permanently. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has the potential to embolden anti-abortion policies like the GGR, which is why it’s important to take advantage of our remaining time left with the Biden administration, the Senate majority, and the House to continue priming the Global Her Act and permanent repeal of the GGR. Especially when many countries’ own national laws and policies permit for the funding and provision of abortion care, the United States’ restriction of providers speech and services abroad is racist and unconscionable. The failure of the administration, Congress, and other government actors to monitor for and ensure compliance with the GGR revocation and provide clear communication only perpetuates the policy’s harm.
Links Information on Reintroduction of the Global HER Act The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Index
Contact your Congresspeople and tell them to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule by supporting and passing the Global HER Act. If your Congressperson is already a co-sponsor, thank them! You can also ask them to find other avenues of moving the bill forward. Contact the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Connecting the Dots Between SRHR and Gender Equality | 21 Mar 2023 | 00:41:07 | |
Gender inequality can lead to women and girl’s having lower income and educational attainment and decreased autonomy and political power. Bridget Kelly, Director of Research for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights at the Population Institute, sits down to talk with us about the report Connecting the Dots: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights as Prerequisites for Global Gender Equality and Empowerment and how the empowerment and advancement of the rights of women and girls is explicitly tied to sexual and reproductive health and rights. According to Fòs Feminista, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) refers to comprehensive family planning and contraceptive services (including emergency contraception, maternal health, prevention and treatment of infertility, safe abortion and post-abortion care, prevention, care, and treatment, of STIs, HIV, and AIDS (and reproductive health cancers and infections) and the prevention and treatment of gender-based violence (including the elimination of harmful practices like female genital mutilation and cutting and child, early, and forced marriage). All of these elements must be met in order for comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare to be fully realized and for gender equality to be advanced worldwide. The empowerment and advancement of rights of women and girls is an agreed upon global sustainable development goal, and, as the largest funder and implementer of worldwide global health assistance the U.S. plays an incredibly important role in advancing these outcomes. Still, U.S. policymakers often fail to recognize that this goal is impacted by the accessibility of comprehensive SRHR. U.S. support for various components of the SRHR agenda flows through multiple budget and appropriation channels, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact current expenditure for SRHR. But, examining funding levels for the current family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) funding program shows that there should be a commitment of $1.74 billion to international family planning and reproductive health programming, including $116 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). FP/RH programming, for the last 13 years, has been flat funded at $608 million. The Biden administration’s budget request, released in mid-March of 2023, shows an increase to roughly $657.5 million. While the current administration recognizes the need for FP/RH funding, it isn’t enough to meet the need. Unfortunately, there was not a request to pull back the Helms amendment, which dictates that U.S. government foreign assistance funds cannot be used for “the performance of abortion as a method of family planning.” Links For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The Dangerous Concept of Fetal Personhood | 26 Aug 2025 | 00:45:44 | |
Fetal personhood, in short, labels a pregnancy as a person. It is the idea that anything a person is legally entitled to, a fetus is, as well. Karen Thompson, Legal Director at Pregnancy Justice and Garin Marschall, co-founder of Patient Forward, sit down to talk with us about viability, state involvement in pregnancies, and criminalization. Fetal personhood tracks alongside viability, which is the point in a pregnancy’s gestation in which the government recognizes personhood. Since Roe, and long before, viability limits became enshrined in law. Dobbs has now dropped all the guardrails. 41 states currently ban abortion at some point in pregnancy - including six states that have enshrined viability limits in their state constitutional amendments. The granting of state power over pregnant people at a certain point has profound implications for criminalization—including for behaviors during pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and threats to bodily autonomy and diminished rights of pregnant people. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Can One Fringe Judge Really Eliminate Medication Abortion in the US? | 07 Mar 2023 | 00:45:43 | |
Medication abortion is safer than Tylenol, and it’s certainly safer than carrying a pregnancy to term. So why is there a case out of Texas that claims medication abortion is dangerous and must be banned? Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire News Group and Co-Host of the Boom! Lawyered podcast, sits down to talk with us about the frivolous framework of this case and how it threatens nationwide access to abortion pills.
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. The FDA is out of the northern district of Texas, where anti-abortion advocates are arguing that, 20 years after the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has ruled on the safety and efficacy of mifepristone (one of two drugs used in a medication abortion), the drug is in fact dangerous and must be pulled from the market. This case sits in front of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed judge who has a vast history of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-reproductive health and rights rulings, including blocking contraception access for Texas teens under the Title X program on the grounds of parental religious objection.
This case has the potential to reach into abortion-protective states by prohibiting the FDA from keeping the drug on the market, meaning your location in California, Washington, New York, or other like-minded states will not protect you from this direct attack on medication abortion. The introduction and legitimization of this case creates confusion about the status of abortion access in one’s state, leading many to not feel that they can access care. There is also a likelihood that the FDA can ignore this ruling and be within their rights to do so; the FDA’s enforcement power is discretionary and has the power itself to approve and remove drugs from the market—a power that federal courts do not hold. Anti-abortion advocacy groups are also attempting to block abortion providers (using intentionally vague language) like Plan C, Aid Access, and Choix, from providing abortion or even education about or advocating for abortion.
Links Jessica Mason Pieklo on Twitter FDA Just Made it Easier to Access Medication Abortion Podcast The Texas judge who could take down the abortion pill Boom! Lawyered: Big Pharma Could Save One of the Abortion Pills (Yikes!)
For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| State Attacks on Transgender Health and Rights are Out of Control | 21 Feb 2023 | 00:42:16 | |
Less than two months into 2023, 325 bills aimed at the health and rights of transgender folks have been introduced in state legislatures around the country— more bills than the last four legislative years put together. Erin Reed, a queer legislative researcher and activist covering transgender legislation and life around the world, gives us an update on transgender health and rights in America, including what attacks to look out for and actions to take to protect bodily autonomy and human rights. Bans on healthcare for trans youth, drag show bans, systemic abuse in schools, bathroom bills: these are just some of the vicious measures that have impacted the daily health and life of transgender and gender non-conforming Americans. 1/3 of bills introduced this year—97 bills—are designed to limit or ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. Often misrepresented as an interference to serious surgeries for minors, these laws end up restricting life-saving care, such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Arkansas, Alabama, Utah, and South Dakota have passed healthcare bans, with many moving through other state legislatures. 20 states have passed bans on transgender youth competing in sports, with 40 similar bills introduced just this year. And, despite anti-rights legislators claiming that their bills introduced to ban drag shows are meant to “protect children”, bills attacking drag shows ultimately stifle “male and female impersonators” or the performance, monologue, or dance of people dressed in clothing opposite to their assigned gender at birth. It’s important to remember that many of the same tactics used in these attacks can be found in attacks to reproductive health and rights. Both the health and rights of trans folks and reproductive health and rights are issues rooted in bodily autonomy that often intersect with each other. The sliver of good news? Even in the harshest state where these bills are being proposed, Democrats are holding the line in protection. Progressive states are continuing to increase support of the transgender community in response to anti-trans legislation around the country. In addition, sports ban bills seem to be losing traction. The Anti-Trans State Of The States by Erin Reed For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Not Everyone is Impacted Equally by Abortion Bans-- Dobbs Made it Much Worse | 07 Feb 2023 | 00:53:16 | |
People’s ability to access healthcare and achieve positive health outcomes should not depend on who they are, but unfortunately, and all too often, it does. In the United States, this is particularly true for Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income individuals. Abortion is healthcare, and it is just as difficult to access for disproportionally impacted people as other forms of healthcare. Liza Fuentes, Senior Research Scientist with the Guttmacher Institute, talks to us about health inequities in the current healthcare system and how abortion is unequally accessed around the country
Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, there were health inequities in abortion care, which has been true since the founding of this country. Resources that people need to decide if, when, and how to become pregnant and give birth include safe and affordable housing and communities, food and living wages, health insurance, and other elements of reproductive justice. Health disparity data exists mostly for Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income women, AND it is important to note that anyone who cannot realize their sexual and reproductive health care—including transgender folks, non-binary folks, people living with disabilities, and young people—will then have disparate access to resources, services, and family planning care.
This translates into abortion restrictions. Almost 70 abortion clinics in the U.S. have closed since Dobbs overturned Roe, mostly in the South and Midwest. Thousands of people are now in a position where they have to spend thousands of dollars to leave their state, or self-manage an abortion in their state, or continue their pregnancy. Those who are still able to get an abortion in these states include those with high incomes, with access to the most resources (including credit cards, savings account, support systems, time). What are the social identities that define the spectrum along which that money is distributed? Age, class, race, disability, immigration status, and income. The Hyde amendment, one of the most pervasive, restrictive, and disruptive amendments to abortion care, targeted low-income women outright.
There are a few examples of protections post-Roe. Many governors and state legislatures—including Illinois, Oregon, New York, and Connecticut— have incorporated abortion rights at into the state constitution. Cities and counties are carving out budgets for abortion access, and even providing medication abortion in public health clinics and departments.
Links Guttmacher Institute on Facebook Guttmacher Institute on Twitter Inequity in US Abortion Rights and Access: The End of Roe Is Deepening Existing Divide For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The FDA Just Made it Easier to Access Medication Abortion (Some Exceptions May Apply) | 24 Jan 2023 | 00:36:29 | |
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration announced that retail pharmacies in the US would be able to receive certification to dispense medication abortion drugs. Greer Donley, Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, sits down to talk with us about the FDA’s recent changes to regulations around medication abortion, including the current status of access, possible challenges, and how far these new changes really go.
Since the FDA approval of mifepristone—one of two medications currently used in a medication abortion—in 2000, access has been harshly regulated. Usually, FDA-approved medications are easily prescribed by licensed providers and dispensed at a pharmacy, but mifepristone faces additional barriers, including a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) protocol. REMS restrictions are reserved for dangerous medication, and include a certification process for the clinician, requires that the medication be dispensed in person in the clinic, hospital, or medical office, and that patients must fill out a consent form. Every major medical association and major expert in the field has branded REMS restrictions for mifepristone completely unnecessary, as it is an incredibly safe drug to take—safer than Penicillin, Viagra, and Tylenol.
During the pandemic, the FDA temporarily lifted the in-person restriction, as making people physically go pick-up medication abortion pills put them at unnecessary risk of COVID-19 transmission. The Supreme Court overturned this decision, but the Biden administration’s newly elected FDA Commissioner, in response, announced that they would not enforce the in-person dispensing requirement completely. A few weeks ago, the FDA began formalizing this announcement, laying out the reversal of in-person dispensing requirement and the allowance of some pharmacies to dispense medication abortion after a certification process. These changes will not have any effect in states that currently ban abortion, as state laws will stop pharmacies and prescribers from dispensing mifepristone. Even with the formalization of this rule, it is unclear how many pharmacies will go through the certification process to be able to dispense the drug. In addition, once pharmacies do become certified, patients will still need to find a certified provider to write than a prescription, and states will still have to follow state laws that restrict abortion.
There is a current legal challenge working its way through district court which would ban access to mifepristone. This case was incited by an anti-abortion group suing the FDA in Texas in an effort to revive the Comstock Act; this act, passed near 150 years ago, bans mailing “obscene materials,” the definition of which is being applied to abortion pills. This lawsuit is completely meritless, yet it is still making its way through district court where the only judges are anti-abortion Trump-appointees. In the U.S., more than 50 percent of abortions are medication abortion, and with Dobbs’ disruption of abortion care, this will be incredibly harmful to access post-Roe. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| How the Overturning of Roe has Impacted the Latina Community | 10 Jan 2023 | 00:37:54 | |
New research from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice shows that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has devastated Latinas the most among people of color. In fact, nearly 6.5 million Latinas—42% of all Latinas ages 15-49—living in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion. Elizabeth Estrada, New York Field and Advocacy Manger for NLIRJ, sits down with us to talk about what abortion access looked like for Latinas, immigrant communities, young people, and those in rural areas before and after the fall of Roe.
Before the Dobbs decision even came down, abortion was not inherently accessible for Latinas in the U.S. In April of 2022, Lizelle Herrera, a woman in the Rio Grande Valley, experienced criminalization and incarceration for a self-managed abortion. Additionally, Texas’s six-week abortion ban, S.B. 8, has been hugely restrictive for many in the American southwest. These extremes have been a reality for marginalized communities already facing barriers to care long before Roe v. Wade was overturned.
With the Dobbs decision now in effect, many states do not offer abortion care, forcing people to travel out-of-state if they can find an appointment. States, in response, are seeking to criminalize that travel. For those who are undocumented or are perhaps living in border towns in the United States, there are already a host of challenges getting to a clinic in one’s own state, let alone traveling far and wide within the country. Already facing increased surveillance, the presence of police and border control can often result in reproductive healthcare access being unrealized.
Despite abortion being a widely popular issue among Latinx people, there is, unfortunately, a mass of mis- and disinformation targeted at the community. Content on social media sites can be targeted based on demographics in an effort to intentionally mislead people, often into using crisis pregnancy centers—brick-and-mortar organizations that frame themselves as medical providers but actually do not offer abortion care, instead often coercing and shaming patients into keeping pregnancies. That’s why it’s important to talk openly with our loved ones, share personal stories that dispel myths (if you feel comfortable and safe), become involved in grassroots work, and lobby our elected officials.
Links National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice on Twitter National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice on Facebook Impact of Roe Overturning on Latinas from NLIRJ and National Partnership for Women and Families More information on the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The US Healthcare System is Already Failing People -- Abortion Bans Make it Worse | 27 Dec 2022 | 00:38:29 | |
The Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade has, in many states, decimated access to abortion care and prevented abortion providers from treating patients. Dr. Leah Torres, Obstetrician/Gynecologist practicing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sits down to talk with us about the state of abortion access in Alabama and how the United States’ healthcare system layout is generally preventing access to quality care. Currently, there is no abortion access in Alabama. Prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the rate of people dying in pregnancy and childbirth in Alabama was twice the national average. Lack of abortion access will only make these extremely upsetting numbers worse. In addition, the United States’ current healthcare system is compounding these dangers for pregnant and birthing people in this country. From transgender healthcare to abortion to vaccination, the politicization of modern medicine comes from the select few embedded in our current healthcare system who have money and power to gain by exploiting the framework and those who seek care within it. Some states, such Alabama, continuously refuse to expand their Medicaid program blocking insurance coverage for those who need it most, while also limiting which providers and clinics can receive Title X funding. Medical students continue to face barriers to training in abortion care. Many residency programs state the miscarriage management training is the same as abortion care training, which is not true. Fellowships, which offer training in certain areas, are often years-long. This means after medical school and residency, many who want to learn about abortion care feel the need to take on another two-year long fellowship in family planning. A lack of sex education across the United States and the gatekeeping of comprehensive information about healthcare intensifies the inability to realize sexual and reproductive health care. When powerful institutions control the narrative about our health and bodies, often informed by “religious freedom,” this can lead to interpersonal relationship problems and mis- and dis-information. While this may seem big-picture, it has a very pin-pointed impact, leading to providers like Dr. Torres to treat individual patients who are coming in for treatment because of lack of access to education and basic care elsewhere. Many who seek care at Catholic hospitals (entities that don’t often make their religious affiliation clear), may not receive the reproductive healthcare they want or need because of religious directives. Links: Dr. Leah Torres on Twitter For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Abortion Funds: Your Ability to Access an Abortion Shouldn't Depend on What's in Your Wallet | 13 Dec 2022 | 00:38:31 | |
Abortion funds work overtime to help patients hurdle financial and logistical barriers to abortion access, and their work has gotten increasingly more difficult after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Oriaku Njoku, Executive Director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, sits down with us to talk about the power of abortion funds, what they do for communities, and how they facilitate access to abortion care across the country.
An abortion fund acts as mutual aid, facilitating and providing access to logistical help for those seeking abortion care. This help may include financial support, transportation, patient education, and more. Patients often reach out to a fund after they’ve scheduled an appointment, and the fund will work closely with the patient to come up with the financial difference needed to receive medical services (which is $500 on average). Funds work with other funds across the United States to ensure that money, resources, and support are given to those seeking an abortion.
Oftentimes, people that reach out to abortion funds for assistance are those in already marginalized communities, such as Black folks, Indigenous people, non-Black people of color, young people, those living rurally, etc. Those living in rural Mississippi-- a state that only had one abortion clinic before the overturning of Roe v. Wade—have compounding and intersectional factors that make accessing abortion care increasingly difficult, such as transportation, geography, income, race, ethnicity, and pre-existing abortion restrictions in the state, among others. In fact, over 90% of those living in the Southeast United States live in a county without an abortion provider.
At the core of abortion funds is reproductive justice, or the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities, as defined by Sister Song Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. It is important to understand the difference between the reproductive health, rights, and justice frameworks and what it means to have human rights and social justice at the center of these conversations.
Links National Network of Abortion Funds on Twitter National Network of Abortion Funds on Facebook Take Action It’s the holiday season, which means it’s the perfect time to challenge misinformed opinions around abortion and other reproductive healthcare when they occur at the dinner table. Talking about abortion destigmatizes and normalizes care, so let’s make sure we have these conversations now and year-round.
Donate to abortion funds! You can find NNAF’s donation page here, where donations can be made to specific funds or be split across their network of 90 funds!
Wear your support for abortion and abortion funds by buying some of this amazing merch. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Hero Origin Stories- Round 5 (Part 2) | 06 Dec 2022 | 00:44:45 | |
Longtime supporters of rePROs Fight Back know what time of year it is… tune in for a reprisal of our most popular series, SRHR Hero Origin Stories! If you haven’t already, check out our previous episodes, SRHR Hero Origin Stories, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 2, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 3, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 4, and SRHR Hero Origin Stories Round 5 (Part 1) where we talked to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and about how they began working in this space. This time, hear from Tarah Demant at Amnesty International USA, Gayatri Patel at the Women’s Refugee Commission, and Jennie Wetter, host of rePROs Fight Back.
Guests include:
Gayatri Patel at the Women’s Refugee Commission
Tarah Demant at Amnesty International USA
Jennie Wetter at rePROs Fight Back
Links
Amnesty International USA on Facebook and Twitter
Women’s Refugee Commission on Facebook and Twitter For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Hero Origin Stories: Round 5 | 29 Nov 2022 | 00:56:28 | |
Longtime supporters of rePROs Fight Back know what time of year it is… tune in for a reprisal of our most popular series, SRHR Hero Origin Stories! If you haven’t already, checked out our previous episodes, SRHR Hero Origin Stories, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 2, SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 3, and SRHR Hero Origin Stories: Round 4, where we talked to a number of amazing heroes in the field of reproductive health, rights, and about how they began working in this space. This time, hear from Rev. Katey Zeh, Executive Director of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Pamela Merritt, Executive Director of Medical Students for Choice.
Guests include:
Rev. Katey Zeh, Executive Director – Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Pamela Merritt, Executive Director – Medical Students for Choice
Take Action: Follow these organizations on social media and keep up-to-date on their amazing work!
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on Facebook and Twitter Medical Students for Choice on Facebook and Twitter For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| The Green Wave: How Abortion Rights Are Spreading Through Latin America | 15 Nov 2022 | 00:35:19 | |
The green wave, a liberal feminist movement started in Argentina, increased mobilization in 2020 in to decriminalize and destigmatize abortion across multiple countries in Latin America. Catalina Martínez Coral, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights and leading member of the movement that decriminalized abortion in Colombia, sits down with us to talk about the inspirational movement, the human rights gains made across Latin America, and what the U.S. can learn from green wave activists.
Starting in 2020 in Argentina, hundreds of thousands of activists took to the streets outside of Congressional buildings on a weekly basis to demand abortion rights. Still, before the green wave spilled over from Argentina into Mexico and Colombia (which later affirmed the right to abortion), Latin America and the Caribbean was one of most restrictive environments worldwide for the access of abortion services. Currently, seven countries in the region have a total ban on abortion (El Salvador, Jamaica, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Suriname). In these countries today, and in countries that had previously criminalized abortion, many people face or have faced limited exceptions to abortion access (abortion in the case of rape, to save the life of an individual, etc.), provider bias, stigma, and more.
U.S. advocates can learn a lot from the green wave movement and its incredible activists. First and foremost, the U.S. must begin by incorporating human rights standards as part of domestic work. Second, the U.S. can continue to strengthen the abortion rights movement and its mobilization to make as much noise as possible around important, just, human rights issues.
Links Center for Reproductive Rights on Twitter Center for Reproductive Rights on Facebook Centro de Derechos Reproductivos on Twitter
Take Action Items Follow Center for Reproductive Rights on Twitter and Facebook, and Centro de Derechos Reproductivos on Twitter. . Share Green Wave stories on social media! Similarly, support Green Wave activists at in-person strikes and events both in the U.S. and in Latin America.
Continue to have conversations with friends and family about abortion as a human right. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Stay Informed, Stay Autonomous | 19 Aug 2025 | 00:45:14 | |
From recent court cases, to LGBTQI+ health and rights, to sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, we have the perfect news source for you. Garnet Henderson and Susan Rinkunas, journalists and co-founders of Autonomy News, a worker-owned reproductive rights and justice publication, sit down to talk with us about their new publication platform and how it can not only teach, but empower. Recent reporting on Autonomy News includes a case in Texas involving the first federal lawsuit against Aid Access—a large provider of abortion pills in the United States. Other reporting also includes a threatened lawsuit from the Arkansas Attorney General who has sent cease and desist letters to Plan C and Mayday Health, which also provide medication abortion. Additional articles include those examining a circulated, biased survey sent to OBGYNs and the rising number of Planned Parenthood clinic closures. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Talking About Abortion: The Language and Imagery We Use Matters | 01 Nov 2022 | 00:36:14 | |
During the Trump administration, multiple myths and pieces of misinformation about abortion were widely circulated. While states were gearing up to pass the first round of near total `abortion bans, Physicians for Reproductive Health was building a comprehensive guide to gold-standard language when talking about abortion care. Kelsey Rhodes, leader of communications work at Physicians for Reproductive Health, sits down to discuss how to talk about abortion in the most inclusive, compassionate, and fact-based way and why it’s important.
Gender inclusivity is incredibly important when talking about any type of healthcare, and particularly so in sexual and reproductive healthcare. Women, indeed, do need to be able to receive full-spectrum reproductive health care, but they do not represent every single person that should be able to access this type of care. Language that only centers “mothers,” and “women,” leave out folks of other gender orientations that also receive and deserve this kind of care, including transgender and nonbinary folks. The fight for abortion rights and transgender rights often intersects, and many abortion providers also provider gender-affirming care. Speaking about abortion means intentionally including the experiences of transgender and nonbinary individuals.
The sound that people will hear at six weeks of gestation (if they are forced to listen to their ultrasound) is the medically proven electro cardiac activity of cells that one day could become a heart. The anti-abortion movement used that sound to signify “life” at six weeks of gestation, underlying the term “heartbeat ban.” “Heartbeat ban” gets repeated frequently by anti-abortion legislators, and by journalists who are reporting on new state-based legislation that restricts abortion. This term is intentionally used to create an emotional, visceral response. Journalists have a responsibility to report accurate information about abortion care and fact-check against myths like “abortion reversal,”
The coat hanger image refers to a time in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, in which people who wished to end their own pregnancies turned to clandestine methods of abortion because they could not access care. Using coat hanger imagery now does not reflect the time in history we are in now, which includes incredibly safe, scientifically advanced, modern methods of abortion care, such as medication abortion. Using coat hanger imagery paints a false picture of the physical safety and reliability of abortion care today, especially self-managed abortion. Similarly, Handmaid’s Tale imagery advances a fictional narrative that doesn’t accurately reflect how systems of oppression in this country disproportionately impact Black, brown, queer, and immigrant communities. The story centers white women and equates a fictional world to the real-time, lived experiences of those whose reproductive health and rights are being systematically oppressed across the country. Links Physicians for Reproductive Health on Twitter Physicians for Reproductive Health on Facebook Physicians for Reproductive Health Guide on Language for Reporters For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| A Deep-Dive on The Global Anti-Gender Movement | 18 Oct 2022 | 00:51:10 | |
The anti-gender and anti-rights movement is a loosely connected set of groups and money, sometimes working in tandem with governments, who are looking to claw back LGBTQI+ rights and abortion rights that have been realized around the world. Bierne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow for the Council for Global Equality, sits down to talk with us about how these movements came to be and the danger they pose to human rights and democratic systems. The anti-gender and anti-rights movement simultaneously works on a global and domestic scale. Misinformation and information flooding has contributed greatly to the anti-gender and anti-rights movement, undermining expertise and civil society, and creating a world in which no factual information can be trusted. From a domestic perspective, this can be very closely intertwined with authoritarian and anti-democratic movements. In a move to diminish civil society, the anti-gender movement will often target organizations that promote or support LGBTQI+ rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, or other human rights—whether through formal complaints or targeted harassment and abuse. For example, in Uganda, the anti-gender government targeted Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a Kampala-based LGBTQI+ human rights nonprofit. Similarly, Boston Children’s Hospital has faced an extreme increase of threats and harassment for providing gender-affirming healthcare. The sexual and reproductive health and rights movement and the LGBTQI+ movement are being out funded by the anti-gender, anti-rights movement at incredible rates. In addition, U.S. religious institutions are not required to report their funding activities. Between 2013 and 2017, LGBTQI movements worldwide received 1.2 billion dollars in funding, while the anti-gender movement received 3.7 billion in funding.
Links Council for Global Equality on Twitter Council for Global Equality on Facebook Power Over Rights – Center for Feminist Foreign Policy Rights at Risk – Observatory on the Universality of Rights Exporting Disinformation - Mozilla Foundation Manufacturing Moral Panic – Global Philanthropy Project
Take Action Follow the Council for Global Equality on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on their important work. Early, loud, visible mobilization for solidarity is incredibly powerful against the anti-gender and anti-rights movements. Hope-based messaging—highlighting what we work for and the world we are building—allows for greater reach and momentum. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||
| Becca Andrews on Her New Book No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right | 04 Oct 2022 | 00:45:22 | |
What was access to abortion like before Roe v. Wade, and what will access to abortion look like after its overturning? Becca Andrews, reporter at Reckon News, talks to us about her new book No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right, including what communities will be hardest hit by the Supreme Court’s decision, as well as the inspiring, groundbreaking work that leaders, activists, and providers are doing around the country to ensure that patients are able to access essential abortion care.
The history of reproductive coercion has been and continues to be rampant in the United States, disproportionately targeted towards people of color and non-cisgendered folks. This unjust thread, foundational to the beginnings of the U.S., continues to weave through access to reproductive healthcare and modern medicine in general. The Janes, the Clergy Consultative Service on Abortion, and the Society for Humane Abortion were collectives that supported, counseled on, referred to, and facilitated access to abortion care before the Supreme Court’s 1973 implementation of Roe.
However, Roe’s legal protections were not around long before they started to be chipped away at; Roe had not even been in place for 50 years before its repeal. Throughout Roe’s standing, many white women’s reproductive health and rights advocacy did not extend to include all who have a right to care. This was made expressly evident through the application of (and lack of fight against) the Hyde amendment, which systematically prevents those receiving Medicaid coverage from accessing an abortion. In addition, the multi-layered barriers—such as a lack of access to childcare and transportation, inability to take time off of work, and lack of access to funds for the procedure and associated costs—coalesced overtime to make an unnavigable labyrinth to accessing care that was particularly felt by those with low-incomes, people of color, young people, LGBTQI+ folks, and immigrant communities.
Links No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right
Take Action Items
Support Becca by purchasing her book, No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right!
Follow Becca on Twitter and Reckon News on Twitter and Facebook. For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Follow Us on Social: Buy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store | |||